3 FTSE Dividends Lifted This Week

Hovering around the 5,678 mark, the FTSE 100 (UKX) is on a trailing dividend yield of around 3.8%, which isn't bad at all, especially with so much growth opportunity in some depressed sectors, too.

It really does make sense to go for high-yielding shares in times like these, and today we take a look at three companies from the various FTSE indices that have lifted their dividends this week...

Taylor Wimpey

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) reinstated its dividends today as it released interim results. After three years of no payouts while the sector was in a slump, we now have a first-half dividend of 0.19p per share. That's not much yet, but it's nice to see a dividend coming back, especially as the rest of the results were looking good.

Average selling price for the period rose 4.6% to £176,000, and the firm's operating margin strengthened to 11.4%, from 2011's first-half margin of 8.4%, as operating profit was boosted by 50% to £100.9m. The news was enough to raise the share price 2.1% to 45p.

Rexam

Rexam (LSE: REX), the packaging company, lifted its interim dividend by 6% to 5p per share as it reported a 3% growth in sales to £2.16bn, with operating profit up 2% to £253m. Underlying earnings per share came in at 17.1p for a 2% rise, so the dividend is very well covered.

Despite that, the shares fell 11.6p (2.7%) to 423p on the announcement. Maybe investors had been expecting more, after the shares had already gained more than 20% over the past 12 months. Forecasts put the shares on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of under 12, falling to 10 for 2013, and dividend forecasts suggest yields of 3.6% and 3.9%, so the shares are not looking overvalued.

Weir

Weir Group (LSE: WEIR), the mining, power oil and gas engineer, reported great interims on Tuesday, and lifted its dividend by a very nice 11% to 8p per share. With first-half earnings per share coming in at 69.9p per share, that's very well covered and the full-year forecast of a 2.2% yield should be safe.

That's not one of the best yields on the market by a long way, but Weir isn't really an income share, and investors who follow the City's consensus recommendation to buy the shares will be doing so in the hope of a share price recovery -- at 1,677p, the price is already back up 19% over the June low of 1,397p.

Finally, if you're in the market for FTSE shares with resilient dividends, look no further than "8 Income Plays Held By Britain's Super Investor". In this free report, we've analysed the £20 billion portfolio of legendary fund manager Neil Woodford. Click here now to discover his favourite companies with high dividends and good growth potential. But hurry -- the report is free for a limited time only.

"Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LSE: RW) reinstated its dividends today as it released interim results. After three years of no payouts while the sector was in a slump, we now have a first-half dividend of 0.19p per share."

Hello stranger

Get straightforward advice on what’s really happening with the stock markets, direct to your inbox. Help yourself with The Motley Fool Collective, a FREE email newsletter designed to help you protect and grow your portfolio wealth.

By submitting your email address, you consent to us keeping you informed about updates to our website and about other products and services that we think might interest you. The Motley Fool respects your privacy. Please read our Privacy Statement and Terms & Conditions.